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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907334">Rainy Days</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaestrotheBlue/pseuds/MaestrotheBlue'>MaestrotheBlue</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shaman King (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, also beta reading is for nerds, but Yoh isn't as obvious about it as Manta is, literally just a whole bunch of self indulgent gay scribbling, sorta - Freeform, the crush is mutual</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:48:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26907334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaestrotheBlue/pseuds/MaestrotheBlue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Manta hates the rain. It's cold, it's wet, and it makes him feel gross. But despite Manta's stubbornness, Yoh's determined to get him to see the good side of rain, whether Manta likes it or not. And, unfortunately, Manta does like it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asakura Yoh/Oyamada Manta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Rainy Days</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This isn't SUPER canon divergent, but I'm tagging it as that anyway, because in my mind, this takes place in an ideal universe where Anna and Yoh realized that they weren't very healthy partners for each other and the arranged marriage thing never happened.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was a rainy day in Tokyo, much to Manta’s dismay. His backpack is waterproof, so none of his school stuff will get wet, and the umbrella he’s carrying is more than big enough to keep him dry. But it’s always so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cold</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and it makes his hair stick to his skin, and he just feels gross. And no matter how fast he makes his way home, it always feels like he’s out in the rain for far too long. It’s not for a lack of trying, either- he’s running as fast as he can without slipping on the pavement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily for him, Yoh taught him a technique that, surprisingly, actually helped him ignore stuff like the rain. Though, admittedly, it works better on Yoh. As long as he pretends that the rain isn’t there, it’ll be like it isn’t. Even though he does it almost every day, he still has to think for a second, just to remember what he usually thinks about. Schoolwork, mainly. Now that he thinks about it, he does have a decent sized project to do as homework…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, just as it was starting to work, Manta gets thrown right back into reality by a gate slamming open, almost hitting him in the process. Manta reflexively steps to the side slightly, before realizing no one’s coming through. It must have been the wind, then. It is picking up quite a bit. Looking through the fence that the gate connects to, he realizes that he’s right next to the graveyard where him and Yoh first met. And, if his memory serves right… he can cut through here to get home faster! Giggling quietly at his own genius, he steps through the gate, being sure to close and latch it properly so it doesn’t take out any unsuspecting passerby’s shins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that it isn’t ridiculously early in the morning, and now that he actually knows what kind of stuff lurks here, he isn’t as afraid of the cemetery as he was the first time around. He knows for a fact that most of the spirits are benign as they can be, and that he probably won’t even see most of them thanks to his on and off ghost sight. That, combined with the happy memories of first meeting Yoh and Akidamaru here, cause him to be uncharacteristically confident. Once more, he loses himself in his thoughts to escape the rain, thinking back to how him and Yoh first became friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, he loses himself so thoroughly that he doesn’t even notice something lying on the path until he’s already tripped on it, snapping back to reality midway through the fall. With a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> dignified shriek, he lands flat on his face, thoroughly soaking him from head to toe. Not even his umbrella could save him, since it got caught in a gust of wind and blew away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Manta?” Oh, he knows that voice. “You okay?” Standing back up and dusting himself off, he looks at what tripped him, only to see Yoh himself, holding his umbrella in one hand. Looks like he caught it, thankfully.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just, just tripped! Y’know, happens all the time.” He’s a little miffed about the fact that his face is dirty now. “The heck are you doing lying in the middle of the road?” He isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>surprised</span>
  </em>
  <span> about Yoh doing that, but he certainly is curious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoh shrugs, pulling his headphones down from his ears to around his neck. “I wanted to lie in the rain for a while, but Anna would get mad if I came home covered in mud.” Speaking of mud- he looks Manta over, seeming slightly concerned. “You got a little something, uh…” He gestures to Manta as a whole. “... there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manta is unamused. “You mean all of me.” All he can do is shake his head and smile at the nonchalant agreement. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I just… don’t like the rain.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoh tilts his head, in a way that Manta feels should be annoying, but just ends up even more endearing because of it. “What’s wrong with the rain?” He hands Manta’s umbrella back to him, before standing up himself. Once he’s up, he stretches his arms up above his head, yawning. Manta has a feeling that he was napping before he tripped on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Relieved to be once more protected from the rain, Manta opens it up above his head, sighing in relief. “It’s cold, it’s wet, and it makes me feel gross.” He makes a bit of a face at the mention, even though he’s experiencing it as they speak and shouldn’t need to make any sort of special reaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s fair.” That’s one thing he likes about Yoh. He never tries to invalidate any of Manta’s feelings, or nitpick anything he does or feels. “You should give it a chance, though.” He looks up at the sky, holding one hand above his eyes so that he doesn’t get water in them. “Rain, especially on days like these, where it’s nice and steady… It’s really relaxing to listen to. And it just isn’t the same when you’re inside, if you want my opinion.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No matter how little he understands Yoh’s reasoning, Manta still nods. “That’s fair too.” He definitely doesn’t get it, but something about the sincere look in Yoh’s eyes makes him just agree anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Hey, lemme show you something.” Yoh starts to walk away, gesturing for Manta to follow him. Manta looks between the muddy ground, and Yoh walking away, and decides that he’ll follow Yoh even despite the mud. He’s followed Yoh through ten times worse, he can stand a little mud on his shoes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The graveyard isn’t huge, so they aren’t walking for long before they reach Yoh’s destination. A tree stands tall above them, water droplets falling from its leaves in a cascade. Yoh walks under it without any hesitation, while Manta’s happy to have his umbrella. Underneath the tree is what appears to be a picnic blanket, spread out with four large rocks on each corner to hold it down. “I think some people were here earlier to visit, and they forgot to pack up the blanket when they left.” There’s a little bit of mud on it, but not much. Yoh sits down, patting the spot beside him in a silent invitation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What else is Manta to do but accept? Sitting down beside Yoh, he looks up at the tree canopy, briefly moving his umbrella out of the way so he can look. … He has to admit, it is actually really pretty… Until a drop of water lands right on his face. Now thoroughly miffed, he puts the umbrella back, pouting slightly. “Yeah, I guess it’s pretty…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoh looks over at him. “... Hold on, lemme get that for you.” He grabs his sleeve so that it’s pulled over his hand, and reaches out to Manta. Manta’s frozen solid by the sudden (relative) intimacy, giving Yoh plenty of time to wipe away the mud. “There we go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manta takes a second to come back down to Earth, upon which he abruptly turns away, hoping that Yoh didn’t notice how pink his face was in the dim light. “Th-Thank you.” Man, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> is touch starved, huh? So much for being cold- now his face feels like it’s on fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence reigns for a moment more, while Manta composes himself and Yoh enjoys the sound of rain. When Manta finally looks over, he notices that, while he’s completely covered by the umbrella, Yoh’s getting even more soaked than he was before. He doesn’t seem to mind, but Manta can’t help but feel a little bad…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trying to be subtle, Manta scoots a little closer to Yoh, trying to hold the umbrella up higher so that it’s over both of their heads. But it isn’t enough. Thanking whoever happens to be listening that Yoh hasn’t noticed, Manta scoots again- this time getting too close, and actually bumping into Yoh by accident. “... Huh?” Yoh looks down at Manta, a curious expression on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Too close too close TOO CLOSE. But now that he’s here, Manta doesn’t really want to move. He’s close enough to hear the music still quietly playing through Yoh’s headphones, and close enough for his brain to short circuit. “... I, uh. You’re getting soaked. So I wanted to get you under the umbrella too,” he admits, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> hoping that Yoh doesn’t notice he’s blushing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Either Yoh doesn’t notice, or he doesn’t react to it. “... I don’t think it’s big enough.” And unfortunately, it seems he’s right- even as close as Manta is, Yoh’s only partially covered. Manta’s about to stammer an apology and go back to where he was sitting, but before he gets the chance to, Yoh’s grabbed him and pulled him up into his lap, grabbing the umbrella from him and holding it above both of them. “There we go!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manta’s not sure which is gonna happen first, his head exploding from how hard he’s blushing or his heart bursting from his chest from how fast it’s beating. The hand that isn’t holding the umbrella up is wrapped around Manta, and Yoh rests his chin on top of Manta’s head. Even without being able to see Yoh’s face, Manta knows he has his stupidly cute content smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… Well, if this is happening now, Manta guesses he might as well enjoy it. Tentatively, he relaxes back, leaning against Yoh’s chest and resting his arms over the arm currently wrapped around him. His hair is still kind of sticking to his face, but between the warmth coming from Yoh, and the two different layers of shielding between them and the actual rain drops…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Manta might like the rain after all.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Like I said, literally just a bunch of gay scribbling.  I'm reading the manga rn and got to chapter 80.5 and I had to write some super indulgent gay fluff.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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